Forgotten Fridays (39)

I invite and welcome anyone interested to post their own Forgotten Friday and join in the fun! I feature a book that I have read and have forgotten how much I enjoyed it. Some books might recent reads and some might be older reads, but I hope this helps these (sometimes forgotten) books earn a spot on your own TBR pile!

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
First Published: March 2010
Series: The Body Finder
goodreads

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer... and becoming his prey herself.

Theme Thursday (77)

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event hosted by Reading Between Pages that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it. The rules are simple:

• A theme will be posted each week (on Thursdays)
• Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
• Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
• It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
  Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”

This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

**Unfortunately Kavyen has not been online recently, I can only hope that she is well and that everything is ok.  I am going to continue to post my own "themes" in order to keep the meme going.  Feel free to join me.**

This week’s theme is – KNOW (understand, informed, comprehend, etc)

Mason knew that Juliana’s only hope for survival was if he figured out the most complicated of answers: how to free a dead woman from a demon’s lethal grasp.

Red Demon by Deidre Knight

My Book Boyfriend (93)

My Book Boyfriend is a weekly meme hosted by Missie of The Unread Reader and co-hosted by Lesley of My Keeper Shelf, in which we swoon over boys in books!

Jack Norton

Book: Conspiracy Game by Christine Feehan

Series: GhostWalkers

He’s a genetically enhanced, psychic soldier. Deep scars and burns mark his chest, shoulders and taut belly. His facial features seem carved out of stone; he’s handsome in a masculine, chiseled sort of way. Broad shoulders, powerful arms, narrow hips, and built with massive upper body strength and well defined muscle.  Deep grey eyes and a restless gaze that comes from years of fighting behind enemy lines.

Quotes:

“Jebediah.” Jack’s voice cut in, his tone very low, almost purring. “You talk to her like that again around me and I’m going to rip out your heart. We clear on that?” Briony’s heart jumped at the threat. Coming from anyone else, it would have been melodramatic, but Jack sounded like he meant it. His tone was mild, he hadn’t raised his voice; in fact he hadn’t even sat up, one arm was still slung over his eyes, but something in his ultrarelaxed posture seemed deceptive—as if inside he was coiled like a snake, ready to strike at any moment. She had never in her life met anyone so casual about violence.

Jack looked at her over the top of the cup, his eyes meeting hers, a sudden raw intensity turning the deep grey of his eyes to a liquid silver. “I would have accommodated you had you asked.”

“Briony, stop,” Jack ordered. His hand curved around her neck, fingers working to massage the tension out of her. “It’s my child too. I want you here. I want the baby here. I’ll teach you the things you need, and after the baby is born, we’ll both protect him together.” Her heart jumped, but she wasn’t ready to hope again. “Why do you think it’s a boy?” “Because my heart couldn’t take a girl. Can you imagine some boy trying to date my daughter? I’d be sharpening my knives when he came calling.”

Future Favorites (108)

Future Favorites is an awesome blog feature created by Alex over at Electrifying Reviews. I post about a book that is yet-to-be-released that I can't wait to read!

Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting

Release Date: April 16, 2013 by HarperCollins

Violet thought she’d made peace with her unique ability to sense the echoes of the dead and the imprints that cling to their killers…that is until she acquired an imprint of her own. Forced to carry a reminder of the horrible events of her kidnapping, Violet is more determined than ever to lead a normal life. However, the people who run the special investigative team Violet works for have no intention of letting her go.

When someone close to Violet becomes a suspect in a horrific murder, she finds herself pulled into a deadly hunt for a madman with an army of devoted followers. Violet has survived dangerous situations before, but she quickly discovers that protecting those closest to her is far more difficult than protecting herself.

The Body Finder series has been praised as a “delectable blend of mystery and romance” (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books), a “fast-paced, compelling read” (ALA Booklist), and as “imaginative, convincing, and successful suspense” (Kirkus Reviews). With a perfect blend of romance, intrigue, and suspense, Dead Silence continues this gripping series, delivering unexpected twists that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Knight:
"My name--my True Name--is Ashallayn' darkmyr Tallyn. I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her. My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl..."To cold faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase--a half human, half fey slip of a girl--smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the unwelcome company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end--a quest to find a way to honor his vow to stand by Meghan's side.

To survive in the Iron Realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. And along the way Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Wow…so…yeah, it took me nearly two weeks to finish The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa. Admittedly I was a bit distracted, but I also found that this book really did not keep my attention completely focused. I’m as much an Ash fan as the rest of ‘em, but I just couldn’t connect to the characters in this one. I think I mostly just missed the interaction between Ash and Meghan, although I really liked the inside peek at the Winter Prince, as the story is told through his point of view. Julie has an amazing talent for pulling you into her world of the fey; visualizing the scenery came easily and I enjoyed that about the story. It was very slow to begin, but this book was one full of adventure and there were a lot of elements that were very reminiscent of The Never Ending Story by Michael Ende. 

Ash made a promise to Meghan that he would find a way to be by her side, and the only way he could survive the Iron Realm and continue to be her knight is to journey farther than any fey has dared in order to receive a soul. Traveling at his side are his enemy and friend, Puck, Grimalkin the cait sith, and the Big Bad Wolf of legend. Along the way they cross paths with someone from Ash and Puck’s past, and they build unlikely and enduring friendships during their adventure. While Meghan believes she has lost Ash forever, he will not stop until he fulfills his promise.

The Apocalypse Tour Came to Barrie!

It's the End of the World - Let's Read! Ontario authors Leah Bobet, Megan Crewe, Lesley Livingston, Maureen McGowan and Cheryl Rainfield (unfortunately Courtney Summers could not make this stop on the tour) shared their recent apocalyptic and dystopian teen novels.

Sorry for the blurry image!  My camera decided a flash was not needed!

It was wonderful to meet and listen to all of these amazing authors! I could not find a babysitter so my boys got dragged along with me, and these wonderful ladies were so kind and patient when Caden and Liam began to get impatient with the idea of sitting still for such a long time!

Swag Lesley received from one of her foreign publishers (sorry it has slipped my mind who she mentioned)!

My Bookish Wants & Gots (29)

My Bookish Wants & Gots is a weekly Saturday feature at The Book Vixen. I list the books I want - which can be old, new, or upcoming releases - and the books I recently got.

Black City by Elizabeth Richards

goodreads

A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war.

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

Temping is Hell by Cathy Yardley

goodreads

WORST. JOB. EVER.

Kate O'Hara can't wait until this temp assignment is over. The woman who hired her is a psychotic pageant queen, her coworkers are convicts-turned-clerks, and it's so boringly corporate it makes her skin crawl. Even her sexy-as-sin boss, famed billionaire Thomas Kestrel, isn't enticement enough to keep her there. Once she makes enough to pay off her bills, she's out. Or so she thinks...

WHAT THE HELL?

Next thing she knows, she's accidentally signed over her soul. Literally. And she's discovered Thomas's real mission: to kill thirteen bad guys in one year, in order to get his—now his and Kate’s—souls back.

IT'S NOT JUST A JOB. IT'S A MISADVENTURE.

From learning to boost the morale of some paper-pushing demons to navigating her way through blood-red tape, Kate has to work closely with her super-hot supervisor and get her flaky act together, before somebody clocks her out—p permanently!

Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland by Bill Willingham
goodreads
At long last! The long-awaited original FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND graphic novel is here!

Bigby Wolf embarks on a quest through the American Heartland to find a new location for Fabletown, a secret society of exiled fairy tale characters living among the "mundys." In his wanderings, Bigby stumbles across Story City, a small town that seems to be occupied solely by werewolves. Oddly enough, they seem to already know and revere Bigby, but at the same time they've captured and caged him.

FABLES: WEREWOLVES OF THE HEARTLAND tells an epic tale that began well before Bigby Wolf set foot in the bucolic plains of the Midwest. It began long ago when he served in World War II and became mired in a Nazi experiment that would change nations. It's soon evident that murder in Story City is the least of their sins, and unraveling the town's many mysteries may cost Bigby, the seventh son of the North Wind, much more than his own life.

This new hardcover is a must-have for any longtime FABLES fan, as well as a great entry point for new readers.

Shadow Rising by Yasmine Galenorn
goodreads 
We’re the D’Artigo sisters: savvy half-human, half-Fae ex-operatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency. My sister Camille is a wicked-good witch with three sexy husbands. My sister Delilah is a two-faced werecat and Death Maiden. And me? I’m Menolly, a jian-tu turned vampire in love with a wildly hot werepuma. Unfortunately, life is about to get very, very nasty…

Nerissa and I can’t decide on what we want to do for our promise ceremony and we’re bickering like an old married couple. My sisters and I head to Otherworld for a meeting with Queen Asteria. Once there, we discover that Shadow Wing has dispatched Telazhar—a malevolent necromancer—to reignite the Scorching Wars. And as soon as we return back home, we find Gulakah, the Lord of Ghosts, waging a battle to control the magical beings over Earthside. Caught between two terrible enemies in a battle spanning two worlds, we can only hope we’re in time to stop all-out annihilation.

Forgotten Fridays (38)

I invite and welcome anyone interested to post their own Forgotten Friday and join in the fun! I feature a book that I have read and have forgotten how much I enjoyed it. Some books might recent reads and some might be older reads, but I hope this helps these (sometimes forgotten) books earn a spot on your own TBR pile!

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
First Published: January 2011
Series: The Iron Fey
My Review 
goodreads

My name is Meghan Chase.

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back.

Theme Thursday (76)

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event hosted by Reading Between Pages that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Anyone can participate in it. The rules are simple:

• A theme will be posted each week (on Thursdays)
• Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
• Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
• It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word)
  Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”

This will give us a wonderful opportunity to explore and understand different writing styles and descriptive approaches adopted by authors.

This week’s theme is – DISAPPEAR (vanish, escape, disperse, etc)

I know my escape will have to be carefully planned and that I won’t be able to simply vanish into the crowd on my first night out.

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

My Book Boyfriend (92)

My Book Boyfriend is a weekly meme hosted by Missie of The Unread Reader and co-hosted by Lesley of My Keeper Shelf, in which we swoon over boys in books!

Brandon Amana

Book: The Crescent by Jordan Deen

Series: The Crescent

He’s a werewolf; in wolf form his eyes are golden brown and his fur is pitch black. In human form he stands roughly six-feet tall and has a flawless face; hazel-green eyes and dark brown hair. His muscular and powerful arms are lightly scarred, most likely due to natural wolfish games. His mate was stolen from his pack when she was just a baby, and their survival depends on their mating-bond. He has a strong protective instinct, and will do anything to return her to their pack in order for her to claim her destined position at his side.

Quotes:

“What do…” I started to lean back, but Brandon’s hands clasped either side of my face and he pressed his smooth lips to mine. His kiss was hungry, full of need and longing. The only thing I could feel was Brandon, his soft hands and his heart beating against my chest. Overwhelming images of lying in bed next to him and his hands brushing freely through my hair flooded my mind. The amount of intimacy that passed between us was staggering; the connection was overpowering. Brandon’s hands rested at the base of my neck as he took his lips away from mine. I struggled to catch my breath. I couldn’t take my eyes off him as my body shook with excitement.

“Brandon…I don’t understand any of this.” My heart bounced against my chest from the mere touch of his fingers and his breath on my face. “I know you don’t. I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. It took me forever to find you.” Brandon brushed his fingers down my arm making me hold my breath. “But I’m here now and there is nothing they can do to change that.” I anxiously anticipated his kiss as he leaned towards me. When our lips finally touched my pulse raced and I threw both of my arms around his neck deepening the kiss. I felt the sting from my bruised arms for the briefest moment, but it stopped the instant my mind flooded with visions of his love for me and mine for him. I was faint again and breathless from his lips covering mine.

Brandon’s uniquely earthy scent filled my lungs and clouded my head. He didn’t let me answer. He kissed me like it would be the last kiss of our lives. The only kiss that ever mattered in the entire world; one laced with equal parts of love and lust. My need for him grew stronger and stronger with every brush of his lips to mine, every mingling of our tongues, and every beat of his heart through my thin shirt. A shirt that had to go, and did, quickly into a heap on the floor somewhere in the darkness. -Half Moon

Future Favorites (107)

Future Favorites is an awesome blog feature created by Alex over at Electrifying Reviews. I post a book that has yet-to-be-released that I can't wait to read!

Towering by Alex Flinn

Release Date: May 14, 2013 by HarperCollins

At first, I merely saw his face, his hands on the window ledge. Then, his whole body as he swung himself through the window. Only I could not see what he swung on.

Until, one day, I told my dream self to look down. And it was then that I saw. He had climbed on a rope. I knew without asking that the rope had been one of my own tying.

Rachel is trapped in a tower, held hostage by a woman she’s always called Mama. Her golden hair is growing rapidly, and to pass the time, she watches the snow fall and sings songs from her childhood, hoping someone, anyone, will hear her.

Wyatt needs time to reflect or, better yet, forget about what happened to his best friend, Tyler. That’s why he’s been shipped off to the Adirondacks in the dead of winter to live with the oldest lady in town. Either that, or no one he knows ever wants to see him again.

Dani disappeared seventeen years ago without a trace, but she left behind a journal that’s never been read, not even by her overbearing mother…until now.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (126)

This is a fun weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Books I read last week:
Dark Slayer by Christine Feehan

The book I’m STILL reading:

Books that spark my interest this week:
The Rancher by Diana Palmer
Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

My Bookish Wants & Gots (28)

My Bookish Wants & Gots is a weekly Saturday feature at The Book Vixen. I list the books I want - which can be old, new, or upcoming releases - and the books I recently got.

The Unveiling by Tamara Leigh

goodreads

12th century England: Two men vie for the throne: King Stephen the usurper and young Duke Henry the rightful heir. Amid civil and private wars, alliances are formed, loyalties are betrayed, families are divided, and marriages are made.

For four years, Lady Annyn Bretanne has trained at arms with one end in mind—to avenge her brother’s murder as God has not deemed it worthy to do. Disguised as a squire, she sets off to exact revenge on a man known only by his surname, Wulfrith. But when she holds his fate in her hands, her will wavers and her heart whispers that her enemy may not be an enemy after all.

Baron Wulfrith, renowned trainer of knights, allows no women within his walls for the distraction they breed. What he never expects is that the impetuous young man sent to train under him is a woman who seeks his death—nor that her unveiling will test his faith and distract the warrior from his purpose.

Silver by Talia Vance

goodreads

Brianna has always felt invisible. People stare right past her, including the one boy she can't resist, Blake Williams. But everything changes at a house party where Brianna's charm bracelet slips off and time stands still. In that one frozen, silver moment, Blake not only sees her, he recognizes something deep inside her she's been hiding even from herself.

Discovering she is descended from Danu, the legendary Bandia of Celtic myth, Brianna finds herself questioning the truth of who she is. And when she accidentally binds her soul to Blake, their mutual attraction becomes undeniable.

But Blake has his own secret, one that could prove deadly for them both.

Bound together by forbidden magic, Brianna and Blake find themselves at the heart of an ancient feud that threatens to destroy their lives and their love.

The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe
goodreads
It starts with an itch you just can't shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you'll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they’re old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in.

And then you're dead.

When sixteen-year-old Kaelyn lets her best friend leave for school without saying goodbye, she never dreams that she might not see him again. But then a strange virus begins to sweep through her small island community, infecting young and old alike. As the dead pile up, the government quarantines the island: no one can leave, and no one can come back.

Those still healthy must fight for the island’s dwindling supplies, or lose all chance of survival. As everything familiar comes crashing down, Kaelyn joins forces with a former rival and discovers a new love in the midst of heartbreak. When the virus starts to rob her of friends and family, she clings to the belief that there must be a way to save the people she holds dearest.

Because how will she go on if there isn't?

Poignant and dizzying, The Way We Fall is the heart-wrenching story of one girl's bravery and unbeatable spirit as she challenges not just her fears, but her sense of what makes life worth living.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
goodreads
Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.